A scumbag husband fakes his death to escape his marriage? I'll burn down his funeral hall and s

Chapter 418 Gu Cheng'an, how cruel you are!

"It's nothing." Gu Cheng'an shook his head and drank it all in one gulp.

Du Ruoling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a triumphant smile flashing in her eyes.

After dinner, Du Ruoling considerately escorted Gu Cheng'an back to his room.

Halfway there, Gu Cheng'an suddenly felt unbearably hot, and his face flushed an unnatural red.

"What's wrong?" Du Ruoling asked, feigning concern, while supporting his arm.

"I... feel a little unwell." Gu Cheng'an shook his head, trying to dispel the inexplicable heat, but the medicine had already begun to take effect, and he felt as if his whole body was on fire.

"Let me help you back to your room to rest." Du Ruoling took the opportunity to help him into the room and closed the door behind her.

Gu Cheng'an sat unsteadily on the edge of the bed, feeling dizzy and his body burning up uncontrollably. Seeing this, Du Ruoling slowly approached and reached out to unbutton her outer garment.

"Cheng'an, let me help you cool down." She said softly, her hand already touching Gu Cheng'an's sash.

In a daze, Gu Cheng'an saw the woman's face gradually blurring. "Who are you..."

Du Ruoling seduced him, saying, "I am your wife..."

Gu Cheng'an was startled awake by the word "wife" and instantly became more alert.

"You... drugged me?" Gu Cheng'an's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with shock and anger.

Du Ruoling bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes: "I am your lawfully wedded wife! We can only sleep in separate rooms every day."

Gu Cheng'an stood up unsteadily, his eyes bloodshot and veins bulging on his forehead. He shoved Du Ruoling aside and stumbled out of the room.

"Cheng'an! Where are you going?!" Du Ruoling hurriedly chased after him.

Gu Cheng'an felt unbearably hot and just wanted to find a place to cool down. He stumbled into the courtyard and, upon seeing the lotus pond, jumped in without hesitation.

With a "splash", water splashed everywhere.

"Ah--!" Du Ruoling screamed, stunned on the spot.

In late autumn, the pool water was icy cold at night.

Gu Cheng'an became somewhat more sober as soon as he entered the water, but the effects of the medicine had not worn off. He could only struggle in the cold water, trying to calm the heat in his body.

Du Ruoling stood by the pool, her heart breaking as she watched Gu Cheng'an choose to soak in the icy water rather than touch her.

"Cheng'an...please come out..." Du Ruoling's voice choked with sobs, and tears rolled down her cheeks like broken beads.

Gu Cheng'an ignored him, his eyes tightly closed, letting the cold pool water surround him.

Du Ruoling could no longer control her emotions. She knelt down by the pool and burst into tears, crying out, "You'd rather soak in cold water than touch me! Gu Cheng'an, how cruel you are!"

Her cries alerted the servants in the mansion, and soon servants and maids rushed over with lanterns to check on her.

"What...what's going on?"

The maid Cui'er quickly stepped forward to help Du Ruoling up: "Princess, don't cry, be careful not to hurt yourself."

Du Ruoling pushed her hand away and continued to cry out, "Gu Cheng'an, you're so cruel! I'm your lawfully wedded wife! Why are you treating me like this?"

The servants looked at each other, unsure of what to do. A few of the bolder ones began to whisper among themselves.

"The Prince Consort... jumped into the pond?"

"It's so cold, is he out of his mind?"

"Shh, keep your voice down, there's definitely something going on here."

Gu Cheng'an had been soaking in the water for a long time, and the effects of the medicine were slowly wearing off, but his lips had turned purple from the cold.

He struggled to climb out of the water, soaking wet and shivering from the cold.

The butler hurriedly stepped forward, took off his own coat and draped it over Gu Cheng'an: "Prince Consort, quickly go back to your room and change into some dry clothes, lest you catch a cold."

Gu Cheng'an didn't even glance at Du Ruoling and walked straight outside.

"Where are you going?" Du Ruoling struggled to her feet, lunged forward, and grabbed his wet sleeve. "You can't leave! I'm pregnant! You have to take responsibility for us, mother and child!"

Gu Cheng'an sneered and forcefully shook off her hand: "Pregnant? Are you sure it's my child?"

These words struck Du Ruoling's heart like a heavy hammer.

Her eyes widened, her face instantly turning deathly pale. He...he knew? When did he find out?

"What...what do you mean...?" Du Ruoling's voice trembled as she tried to remain calm.

"Stop pretending." Gu Cheng'an's voice was icy. "If you were pregnant, why would you drug me?"

Upon hearing these words, all the servants present gasped in shock, their eyes filled with astonishment.

Du Ruoling felt a rush of heat to her head, her vision went black, her body went limp, and she fainted to the ground.

Gu Cheng'an didn't even glance at it, and turned to walk towards the gate of the mansion.

The night was as dark as ink, and the wind was biting cold. He was soaked to the bone, but he felt no chill at all. Only a maddening heat raged within him.

He didn't know how he got to the General's Mansion; he only knew that the drug was about to burn away his reason.

He could only think of one place: his elder brother's mansion. At least there, he could be properly taken care of, instead of falling into a trap carefully set by someone.

"Knock knock knock—" Gu Cheng'an knocked on the door of the Zhenguo General's Mansion with unsteady breath.

"Who is it? So late at night."

The gatekeeper reluctantly opened the door, only to find a figure, soaking wet and flushed, swaying outside.

The servant looked closely and exclaimed in surprise, "Deputy General Gu, what's going on?"

Gu Cheng'an opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but everything went black before his eyes, and he fell straight down.

The servants rushed forward to support him, only to find that his body was burning hot, while his outer clothes were cold and soaked.

The servants hurriedly carried Gu Cheng'an into the mansion, alarming many people along the way.

Chu Ruohan was still in her postpartum confinement period, and Gu Junze had just fallen asleep, so Yu Ling took it upon herself to have someone go and call Doctor Qian first.

Doctor Qian was quickly awakened and rushed over with his medicine kit. He lifted Gu Cheng'an's eyelids to examine him, then took his pulse, and his brows immediately furrowed.

"Deputy General Gu has been... drugged with aphrodisiacs! And the drug is so potent that it has penetrated deep into his bloodstream."

“He was soaked through, presumably because he used cold water to suppress the effects, but how could cold water possibly counteract this kind of medicine?” Doctor Qian said gravely.

Yu Ling blushed slightly. Who would give him such a drug?

"Dr. Qian, is there any antidote?"

Dr. Qian knew that young women were easily embarrassed, and this kind of thing was indeed awkward.

"I'll go and prepare it now. You should go back too; he won't wake up anytime soon."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to Dr. Qian." Yu Ling quickly left.

Doctor Qian hurriedly went to prepare the medicinal herbs and soon brewed a bowl of dark, murky soup.

He gently pushed open the door and saw that Gu Cheng'an was still unconscious, with a furrowed brow, flushed face, rapid breathing, and fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Deputy General Gu, Deputy General Gu," Doctor Qian called softly, and when there was no response, he gently shook his shoulder.

Gu Cheng'an opened his eyes slightly, his gaze unfocused, as if he was not fully awake yet.

"Drink the medicine quickly." Doctor Qian brought the bowl of medicine to his lips. "This is the antidote. You'll feel better after drinking it."

Gu Cheng'an barely managed to lift his head and, with Doctor Qian's help, drank the bowl of dark medicine in one gulp.

The medicine tasted extremely bitter, yet it carried a hint of coolness, sliding down the throat and slowly flowing into every part of the body.

Gu Cheng'an took a heavy breath, closed his eyes, and leaned back on the bed.

About half an hour later, Doctor Qian took Gu Cheng'an's pulse again and felt the pulse gradually returning to normal before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"The effects of the medicine have worn off, but you're still a bit weak. You'll be fine after a few days of rest..."